Q. Does a Dependent with total disability, over 17 years of age, qualify for the 2023 child tax credit and the refundable ACTC ?
A. No. Although a dependent's disability allows you to claim them as a "qualifying child", rather than a "qualifying relative", past age 18 (age 23 if a full time student), the child tax credit and the additional child tax credit is lost when the dependent reaches age 17.
Although the CTC and ACTC is lost, you may continue to claim the Earned Income Credit, based on that dependent.
There are two types of dependents, "Qualifying Children"(QC) and Other ("Qualifying Relative" in IRS parlance even though they don't have to actually be related). There is no income limit for a QC but there is an age limit, student status, a relationship test and residence test. Only a QC qualifies a taxpayer for the Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit (if under 17). They are interrelated but the rules are different for each.
The support test is different for each type. The support test, for a QC, is only that the child didn't provide more than half his own support. The support test for a Qualifying Relative is that the taxpayer provided more than half the relative's support.
